The murder of a Wayne County businesswoman may have been solved.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, three arrests have been made in the March 2008 murder of Janie Cooley Broadway Williams. A fourth arrest could follow. No names were available Tuesday night, but the sheriff’s department scheduled a press conference for this morning in Waynesboro.
As recently as March of this year family members were pleading for the public’s help in solving the murder. They held a press conference in Hattiesburg March 6 to announce a $10,000 reward in conjunction with Metro Crime Stoppers.
“It’s been a year, but it seems like it was yesterday,” said Rena Wishum, Janie’s daughter, as she wiped away tears. “We live right by her house. So, it’s something we look at everyday. ... I just hope someone will speak out and help.”
“We need help,” proclaimed Tod Wishum, Williams’ son-in-law during a press conference. “There was one shot and she was gone. ... There’s got to be an explanation. Somebody shot her.”
Williams was murdered at around 1 a.m., the morning of Thursday, March 6th, 2008 inside her home on Red Brown Drive in Clara near Waynesboro.
Officials reported that Williams and her husband, Ken Williams, had just arrived home and they were the only people in the home at the time a single bullet entered the house through a kitchen window striking the woman.
“The shot came through the kitchen window as Williams stood in front of her refrigerator,” Investigator Ricky Lott with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) said in a press release. “A high power rifle was used to fire the fatal shot.”
Lott and Investigator Mike Mozingo with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department (WCSO) had been the lead investigators in the case.
Investigators reported having interviewed 67 people in connection with the case and have received numerous tips.
Williams and her husband co-owned the High Noon Bar in Waynesboro, as well as a flower shop.
Wishum and other members of the victim’s family gathered in Hattiesburg and said they need some answers.
Janie’s husband, Ken Williams, did not attend the press conference.
Leader-Call reporter Eloria Newell James contributed to this report.
Local News
Arrests made in Williams murder case
Wayne Co. woman was killed in March 2008
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